"Spirit"
Chris Barnes, Shihan
Bushi Dojo - Los Angeles
From the practical standpoint of the Warrior.
If a man is threatening you, you can see and hear him, but you do not know for certain
what he will do. Watch him with a calm mind. Stay focused and relaxed. Do not attempt to
guess what he will do. Instead, trust in your spirit. Only your spirit has the ability to
act without of necessity of thought in perfect union with what actually happens. The
mind's duty is to be still, to surrender to the spirit. Spiritual means to function by the
leading of the spiritual rather than by the conscious dictation of the mind. The ego- mind
is aggressive as it acts from the state of knowing, calculating, and analyzing. It stops
and goes. The spiritual mind does not stop. It goes straight ahead. It is direct. It is
Shorin-Ryu Karate USA.
The fall of man is revealed to be his quest for "other" or OUTSIDE knowledge.
Man is still falling because he values outside teachings. Not so with the warrior. The
Bushi Warrior values the tradition, the ancient heritage, and the wisdom found in kata,
kumite, and zazen.
Since 1982, Shorin-Ryu Karate USA has given freely to me the perfect union of traditional
training and spiritual growth. Here on the Pacific Coast we keep that experience alive.
That is why we say "one system, one family, one master."
It is the trick of the enemies of man to pull him outside of himself, outside the oneness
so that he may be vulnerable to defeat. Beware of the enemy.
Arigato, Shihan Barnes